To the Place of My Dreams, Bagdad Cafe

The last film I watched at Ueda Eigeki at the end of last year was the 1989 classic, Bagdad Cafe.

Bagdad Cafe was a film that had always been in the back of my mind.
I've heard the theme song and opening track, 'Calling You,' many times before,
and the background music 'Blues Harq' always seems to be used in variety shows about travel or cooking.

I've heard people talk about 'Bagdad Cafe' as a masterpiece that stays in their hearts, I've encountered it through homages in later works (like the anime 'COWBOY BEBOP' or the manga 'ONE PIECE'), and I've read about characters mentioning it in novels. Because of this, I felt like I had been passively exposed to it for a long time, so watching it to the end was a deeply moving experience.

Based on the incredibly stylish poster—where a lady in elegant clothing, unsuitable for manual labor, cleans a water tank labeled with the cafe's name under a beautiful, clear blue sky, with what appear to be her heels placed in alternating order on a stepladder—I had assumed it was a difficult, high-concept film that demanded interpretation from the viewer. However, it was a simple, heartwarming, and soul-warming story that was easy to enjoy.

It isn't a film driven by a grand plot; it's a story about people who gather at a place that is a cafe, gas station, and motel all in one, becoming friends and eventually like family. It's a film about how Bagdad Cafe became a place that brought happiness to both those who stayed there and those who visited, woven together through character depictions, shifting human relationships, the wilderness, the shop, and the music.
The story follows how Bagdad Cafe, which was desolate and lonely at the beginning, gradually changes as a traveler named Jasmin stays there, eventually becoming a bustling, popular spot where everyone becomes a close-knit family. Jasmin's large luggage and hat reminded me of 'good witches' like Mary Poppins or the mysterious Mrs. Magic.
Or perhaps she is what is known in folklore and mythology as a visiting deity—or, to put it simply, a god of fortune.

Beyond the famous poster scene where Jasmin cleans the water tank, there were beautiful still frames everywhere; it was a film that felt like visual nourishment.
It really is just wonderful.

Perhaps that is why, unexpectedly, my favorite part of the film was when someone left the Bagdad Cafe community, which had grown so close and bonded so deeply, saying it was 'too close-knit.'
The shop is sparkling clean, the service is proper, the customers and staff are all friends, and it's comfortable.
For some people, that is a reason to leave a place.
I really love how that detail was casually included without dampening the heartfelt nature of the story.

(The following is an unnecessary viewing memo; contains spoilers)

・At the beginning, Jasmin has a huge fight with her husband, and he drives off.
He does return to look for her, but he was irritable and had taken some kind of drug. I wonder if that was the cause of the fight.
・When Jasmin appears at Bagdad Cafe on foot, drenched in sweat and carrying heavy luggage, the owner, Brenda, is suspicious and hides her hostility for a long time. But from the viewer's perspective, I knew they could become comrades because they shared the position of being wives who had abandoned or been abandoned by their husbands.
That's why I was cheering internally when that happened. It was a great sisterhood.
・Even so, Brenda's husband was also a truly useless man who couldn't do his job. A world view filled only with crappy men.
・Brenda's daughter doesn't help with the family business, and her son just plays the piano and doesn't take care of his own child (the son is a single father). And her husband is completely incompetent and even left. It's no wonder Brenda has been so intensely angry and exhausted in such an environment; it's painful.
・It's no wonder the daughter, the son, and the grandchild all grow fond of the cheerful and kind Jasmin, but I actually empathized more with Brenda, who became frustrated by it.
Of course she would feel like she, who had been working so hard, was being neglected.
・But the scene where Brenda and Jasmin join hands to run Bagdad Cafe was incredibly moving. It meant that Brenda accepted Jasmin's kindness and cheerfulness, and they were able to find joy in each other.
・Brenda's husband came crawling back once Bagdad Cafe became a huge success, and Brenda seemed happy that he returned. Why? Isn't it fine just having Jasmin?
・Jasmin also seemed not entirely opposed to being proposed to by the painter who was essentially a freeloader at Bagdad Cafe, but I wonder if the world view is that women should get married and have a man by their side... That's a crude way of putting it, but I can feel the era it was made in.
The film ends with Jasmin saying she will consult Brenda, so perhaps she might turn him down (wishful thinking).
・After watching, I checked other people's reviews and realized that what Jasmin's husband was taking wasn't a drug, but 'snuff.'
I got excited, thinking, 'That snuff from John Dickson Carr's *The Emperor's Snuff-Box*!?'
I'd never seen it before... I'm sorry for saying you were on drugs, Jasmin's husband.